Gold-separator



(No Model.)

v asheets-sheeo 1 M. STEWART.

GOLD SEPARATOR.

Patented Jam 16,1894.

z I e 1 v (No Model.) a Sheets-Sheet 3.

' M. STEWART.

GOLD SEPARATOR.

No. 512,918. PaJtentedJan.16,18 94.

THE NATIONAL u'n'weRAPHma cuMPANY.

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NTTED STATES PATENT **'FFICE@.

GOLD-SEPARATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 512,918, dated January 16, 1894 Application filed July 18, 1893- Serial No. 480,819. (No model.)

the longitudinal bars a secured to the frame I To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MONROE STEWART, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Bernardino, in the county of San Bernardino and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gold- Separators; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in that class of gold separators in which'the separation is effected by mechanical agitation assisted by the action of a current of air, or those devices known as dry separators, and it consists of certain details of construction and combination and arrangement of parts more fully described hereinafter and fully embodied in the claim.

The object of my invention is to so employ a current of air adapted to operate in conj unc: tion with a series of sieves and thereby separate the earth and gold dust, that the gold will be more effectively separated and little or none of it blown out of the machine or in any way wasted.

Referring to the accompanying drawings Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my invention complete, Fig. 2 a rear elevation, Fig. 3 alongitudinal section, and Fig. 4 a cross section.

The reference letter A, indicates the frame of my machine which is preferably of wood and composed of six vertical beams connected at or near their upper and lower ends respectively to horizontal head beams and horizontal base beams; the whole being securely put together. Arranged at the upper end of four of the vertical beams of the frame A, two on each side, is the feed hopper A which is provided at its mouth with a forward extending chute A and the flow of earth and gold is regulated by a gate A arranged on the interior of the hopper and movable toward and from the opening therein. The sieve frame consists of two parallel side boards (1, provided at their upper edges with the outward and laterally extending flanges a which rest upon A, and extending'parallel to the sieve frame a, and its flanges a. By this means the sieve frame is supported in position and rendered capable of longitudinal reciprocation; and said frame being guided and steadied by the additional bars a arranged one on either side just below the bars a Located in the sieve frame and inclined slightly forward are the sieves B, preferably three in number and decreasing in size of mesh as they extend down for example; so that if the top sieve Wlll have a half inch mesh the sieve below will have a quarter inch mesh and the last or bottom sieve will have an eighth inch mesh. The dirt and gold on the sieves are prevented from gravitation oif the lower ends thereof by means of the upwardly projecting strips of tin or other sheet metal B which extends across the lower ends.

The sieve frame a, and its attached sieves are supported to swing longitudinally by means of the links I), which are four in number, two for each end and supported by the transverse rods 1), which are in turn secured two to the frame A, and two to the sieve frame. The sieve frame is so located with respect to the feed hopper A and chute A that the latter will feed the contents of the hopper directly on the top sieve. The sieve frame is cut away at its bottom parallel with the bottom sieve and provided at its lower forward end with a sheet metal chute b which slants down and backwardly and is adapted to empty on the riffle-board 0, arranged below it.

The riffle-board, C, is located just below the bottom of the sieve frame and parallel with the bottom sieve and it is supported by the boxing or case 0 which is of the same size as the sieve frame and is arranged directly beneath the same, with its upper edge slanting forward parallel with the lower edge of the sieve frame. This box, 0, is closed at its rear end and open at thefront, through which front end the riffle-board is inserted so that it can be removed at will and the riffleboard is secured therein by means of the wedge keys 0 adapted to fit between the upper side of the board and the inwardly projecting flanges O of the box 0. The riflfle board is supported in its inclined position by means of the forwardly inclined tracks or rails O which are secured in the bottom portion of the box 0 and parallel with its sides. The riffie board consists of a pair of side bars 0, connected to each other by means of the cross bars 0 and these cross bars, 0, have fixed to them and extending the entire length of the board the sections of sieves 0 which are secured at one end to the upper side of one bar and at the other to the lower side of the adjacent bar, thus providing the under side of the board with a series of depressions or pockets which serve to more effectually catch the air blast from the bellows.

Arranged over the upper side of the sieve bottom of the riffle-board is a sheet of canvas or other strong cotton cloth 0 which is made to conform to the shape of the sieves c and is firmly held in place by amalgamated copper bars 0 arranged on the top and rear side of the bars a and securely bolted or nailed thereon. By this construction pockets are also formed on the top side of the board 0, and arenecessarily disposed in a direction opposite to that of those in the under side. These pockets serve to catch and retain the particles of gold separated from the earth and ore; while the fine gold dust is caught and retained by the amalgamated bars 0 from whence it is removed as will fully appear hereinafter.

The reference letter D, indicates the blower or bellows by which the air blast for assisting the separation is produced. This is very similar to the ordinary bellows and consists of the swinging section D hinged to the forward end of the frame A, and provided with a flap valve D seating downwardly whereby the air is admitted into the chamber of the bellows but prevented from receding therethrongh. Securely fastened to the edges of the swinging section D and to the stationary top section of the bellows are the leather sides D which are so arranged as to form the air tight chamber essential to all bellows and by reason of its flexibility the section D is free to swing on its hinge, thereby producing the blast.

Formed in the stationary or top section of the bellows is a rectangular opening D which is of a size nearly equal to that of the riffieboard 0, through which the air blast from the bellows passes to the rifile board.

Located directly over the opening so as to completely cover the same is the valved apron (1, arranged to be capable of sliding longitudinally in the grooved way cl formed by the bottom of the box 0 and the lower edge of the incline riffle-board supporting rods C. This apron consists of abodyportion d, formed preferably of wood and having therein the slots or openings d extendingat rightanglestothelongitudinal disposition of the machine. Over these slats the flap valves or caps d are arranged which are hinged on aline parallel with the slots d by meansof flexible strips of leather (1 By this construction the air from the bellowsD, is allowed to passthrough the apron and act on the riffleboard,while any back flow of air is prevented by reason of the valve d. The strength of the air blast from the bellows is regulated by means of a valve D arranged on the interior of the swinging section D and adapted to command the opening D therein; a stud or pin D being fixed to the valve and projecting through the opening D to the other side of the section where it may be readily. reached in order to adjust it. It w1ll be apparent that by opening or closing thls valve the air will be allowed to escape from or be confined in the bellows chamber and thus made to flow through the opening D in great or small quantities. o

The mechanism for operating my machine will now be described.

The reference letter E, indicates a cont nuously revolving shaft journaled in bearings E on the frame A, and having one end projecting beyond its bearing, to which end is fixed the spur gear E provided with an operating crank E by which motion is communicated to the shaft. J ournaled just below the shaft E, and on a line therewith is a second revolving shaft E, which has fixed to the end under the gear E a pinion E which is adapted to mesh with the spur gear and derive its motion therefrom; while the remaining end of the shaft E has fixed to it,beyond its bearings, the balance wheel E Formed midway the shaft E is a double crank e, to the wrist pin of which is connected the vertically extending pitman c. This pitman extends downward to a point on the same plane with the swinging section D of the bellows D, to which section it is pivotally connected by means of the arms 6 extending out therefrom. Pivotally connected to the middle of the pitman a is one end of an arm or link a which is similarly connected at its remaining end to the lever e This lever is fulcrumed to the box 0 at e and has the end of its upper arm pivotally connected to the sieve-frame a. By these means motion is communicated from the shaft E to the section D of the bellows and to the sieve frame a, which results in a vertical, swinging motion of the former and a longitudinal reciprocating motion of the latter.

Handle-bars F, are provided and secured to the frame A, of the machine whereby it may be easily moved to various positions.

The preferred construction of myinvention having now been set forthI will proceed to describe its use and mode of operation.

After the ore has been concentrated or pulverized it is placed in the hopper A and fed upon the sieve by way of the gate A and chute A Owing to the shaking motion of the sieves the fine particles of gold and ore are sifted down onto the chute b from whence they are fed to the riffle board (1. Simultaneously with this operation the bellows D is operating to throw a blast of air through the apron cl,.and riffle board C. This tends to blow off the riflie board all particles of earth and ore that may have been small enough to pass the sieves, while the gold being much heavier than the earth will remain in the pockets on the upper surface of the board provided therefor and the fine gold dust will be caught and retained by the amalgamated copper bars 0 of the riflie board which are provided for that purpose. When enough of the gold has been separated from the earth and ore to make it profitable the keys (1 are withdrawn and the riffle board and its contents may be removed. After the gold has been collected from the riffie board the parts are again placed in position and the operation repeated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A dry separator comprising the combination of a sieve capable of a reciprocal movement, a bellows adapted to direct a blast of vair upon the screen, a drive shaft having a double crank thereon, a pitrnan connected to the crank and to the bellows whereby itis operated, a lever fulcrumed in the frame of the machine, a link connected at one end to the pitman and at the remaining end to the lever whereby the lever is rocked on its fulcrum and a second link connected to the remaining end of the lever and to the screen, whereby the screen is reciprocated in unison with the operations of the bellows, substantially as described.

In testimony whereofI afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MONROE STEWART. Witnesses:

T. H. PALMER, A. POINTZ. 

